A doctor working with Bryan Stow confirmed today that Stow is showing significant improvement in his health and ability to respond, according to the Huffington Post. Dr. Geoff Manley announced that Stow, who was severely beaten outside Dodger Stadium on the team's opening day, is able to follow commands and to have interactions with people around him. more ›

Yesterday's devastating 6.3-magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand has impacted many people world-wide, and now Los Angeles is reaching out with assistance in the form of the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s 74-member California Task Force 2 team, who deployed in the evening to assist in the rescue and recovery efforts there. This morning, the official death toll remains at 75, however hundreds of people remain missing, buried beneath the rubble. more ›

Earlier today a team of medics and a coroner from Los Angeles County hoisted the body believed to be that of missing hiker Michelle Yu from the Fish Fork area of Mount Baldy, according to LA Now. Although the woman's body's description and clothing match that of Yu, 49, an autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow to make a positive identification and to determine cause of death. more ›

More jobs are expected to be created but City Controller Wendy Greuel is disappointed that two departments given $111 million in federal stimulus monney are slow to create and retain jobs. The Department of Public Works has received $70.65 million, resulting in the creation or retention of 45.46 jobs so far. Overall, there should be 238 jobs. more ›

Back for the second season of VH1’s “Sober House With. Dr. Drew” is its matriarch, Jennifer Gimenez. Last year’s debut season, featuring Gimenez and a host of celebrities trying to clean up their act, was one of reality TV’s most dynamic in memory. more ›

That's according to this map posted to Chicagoist via The Real Deal. California may have "recorded its fourth consecutive month of year-to-year increases after more two years of declines," according to the Associated Press, but full recovery in L.A. County might not be seen until sometime between 2020 and 2029, says data collected for the above map from Moody's, Firstserve and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. more ›

While here in Los Angeles and the greater Southern California area are anticipating Pacific wave activity as a result of today's early morning devastating 8.8 quake off the coast of Chile, many are working diligently reach loved ones in South America and regions under more serious tsunami warnings. Additionally, many here might be interested in ways to help out in the relief and recovery in Chile, and as a result, Google has just launched a Crisis Response portal where you can donate funds to the American Red Cross and UNICEF, get updates from news sources, and locate loved ones. To follow relief efforts and opportunities for aid, you can also follow the Red Cross on Twitter. more ›

This morning the federal government announced funding (.pdf) for recovery act transportation projects around the country, including one in the Los Angeles region. It's not sexy like the funding Tucson, New Orleans, Dallas and Portland got for streetcars, but one it's important for the local economy. more ›

Here's a little factoid update: Over the last year, Los Angeles has submitted 148 applications to the federal government, seeking a total of $1.5 billion in stimulus money. Of that, they've seen $591 million come in from 81 different grants, it was announced at a city council committee meeting last week. No grants are being submitted this week, but officials are awaiting a big announcement about some transportation grants, in which the city applied for $81 million. The city has a website dedicated to recovery money, but it's not very helpful. more ›

For those in recovery, the holidays can represent the most trying time of the year. Good thing Los Angeles is plenty strong on recovery. All sorts of help can be found in the form of many 12-step meetings from all sorts of 12-step programs. Perhaps there's something to it. Happy Holidays! more ›

Last week the California High-Speed Rail Authority voted to submit a grant application to the federal government, asking for $4.8 billion in stimulus money for a high speed rail line that would connect Los Angeles and San Francisco with a few hours trip. On Friday, that application will be submitted after few rallies across the state, including one in Los Angeles. more ›

Colored lights flared and strobes flashed. Dozens of exotic dancers gyrated and jiggled as music suited for getting undressed pulsed through Las Vegas’ Spearmint Rhino. Thirty year-old Bryan Bishop, or “Bald Bryan” as he’s known to listeners of The Adam Carolla Show, and now The Adam Carolla Podcast, opened a tiny plastic baggy and slushed back a pill with his ice-cold vodka and Red Bull. A glittery stripper expressed her curiosity for what she assumed was Bishop kicking his Bachelor Party revelry up a notch. more ›

In a press conference held shortly after 8 this morning at the command center in Hansen Dam, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor Villaraigosa spoke of the current data regarding the massive Station Fire, the heroism of the firefighters, and the assistance available to the victims. more ›

It probably wasn't very hard for former City Controller Laura Chick to leave her Los Angeles post early to join Schwarzenegger as his Inspector General overseeing how stimulus money was being spent in California. In Los Angeles, she was a bulldog over anything wasteful. more ›

Who knew our little freeway that could was the largest and most stimulated project in all of the state. Ripped from a White House press release about California meeting Recovery Act goals ahead of schedule: "As of today, California’s largest ARRA-funded project is the I-405 in Los Angeles County that will be widened and include several interchange upgrades along a 10-mile stretch of HOV lanes. This project is located in an economically distressed area and relies on $190 million in ARRA funding to go toward the total cost of $739 million for the project." The only 10-mile 405 freeway HOV widening project listed on Metro's website is located in the "economically distressed" areas between the 10 Freeway and Ventura Blvd... you know, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Brentwood, Westwood Village, etc. Still, once completed, it should be happier days for many. more ›

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that $400 million from the economic recovery package is headed to make capital investments in transit throughout California. It's not going to build us the Subway to the Sea or anything sexy like that, but is headed to more functional improvements, such as seen in the above photo: more ›

You might recognize Anna David from G4’s “Attack of the Show.” As the popular program’s sex and relationship expert, David gracefully dishes advice that's as entertainingly witty as it is honest. While a go-to answer gal for bedroom matters, her expertise extends further than one might imagine. more ›

Speaking from South LA today, Vice President Joe Biden announced that affordable-housing development Esperanza Community Housing Corporation will receive $875,000 for the removal of toxic paint from 225 homes. more ›

LA City Council's new ad hoc Committee on Economic Recovery and Reinvestment met last week for the first time carefully deciding how stimulus will be handled. "At that meeting, we established a set of 9 guiding priorities by which we intend not only to fulfill the president’s vision for efficient allocation of the stimulus funds, but also to make Los Angeles the most accountable, transparent, and effective city in moving economic recovery programs forward," Council President Eric Garcetti wrote on his personal blog on his campaign website. With this transparency, he believes the city will get up to $1 billion. more ›

This morning the state announced higher income taxes and more cuts in programs because stimulus money earmarked for the state budget was not enough. Basically, last month's budget plan said if the state doesn't receive at least $10 billion from the feds, more taxes and cuts were going to happen. Well, it happened, California got $8.17 billion. more ›

President Barack Obama's web team has really set a high standard transparency on the web. His website for the White House and Recovery.gov, the stimulus website, are slickly designed with useful information folded into opportunities to send the administration feedback. One of the the requirements for states and other grantees under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is to report project status, spending, and job creation and retention to the public on a regular basis. In the spirit of Obama, Schwarezenegger recently launched Recovery.ca.gov. Asked yesterday by phone and e-mail, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office did not respond to requests asking if they would be launching a Los Angeles recovery-type website for the public. more ›

For those in recovery, the holidays can represent the most trying time of the year. Good thing Los Angeles is plenty strong on recovery. All sorts of help can be found, including many 12-step meetings from all sorts of 12-step programs. Perhaps there's something to it. Happy Holidays! more ›